About the Book

Shamans and Analysts provides a model by which to understand the wounded healer phenomenon. It provides evidence as to how this dynamic arises and gives a theoretical model by which to understand it, as well as practical implications for the way analysts' wounds can be transformed and used in their clinical work.

By examining shamanism through the lens of contemporary approaches to archetype theory, this book breaks new ground through specifying the developmental foreground to the shaman archetype, which not only underpins the wounded healer but constitutes those regarded as ‘true Jungians’.

Further areas of discussion include:

Siberian shamanism

contemporary archetype theory

countertransference phenomena in psychotherapy

socio-cultural applications of psychoanalytic theory.

These original and thought-provoking ideas offer a revolutionary way to understand wounded healers, how they operate and how they should be trained, ultimately challenging traditional analyst / analysand stereotypes. As such this book will be of great interest to all Jungians, both in training and practice, as well as psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and counsellors with an interest in the concept of the wounded healer.

Table of Contents

The 'Good Analyst' and the 'True Jungians'. The Wounded Healer. What is Shamanism? Shamanism and the Wounded Healer as an Archetype. Contemporary Archetype Theory. A Re-evaluation of Jung's Classic Theory of Archetype. The Developmental Side to the Shamanic Wounded Healer. Case Study – the Siberian Sakha (Yakut) Tribe. The Siberian Shaman's Wound – A 'Borderline Type Of Case'. Evidence that the Siberian Shaman is Proto-Borderline. Conclusions. Appendix A: The Implications of Knox's Emergent/Developmental Model of Archetype. Appendix B: Borderline Personality Disorder.

About the Author

John Merchant is a Consultant Psychologist and Jungian Analyst in private practice in Sydney, Australia. He is a member of the Australian Psychological Society, the International Association for Analytical Psychology and is a Training Analyst and previous Vice-President of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Jungian Analysts.